Sunday, September 23, 2012

Weekend Worship—Conditions of the Heart

For if anyone thinks he
is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Galatians 6:3

This week I had the
privilege to attend my fourth ACFW conference. For those who don’t know, ACFW
stands for American Christian Fiction Writers. This conference is always a
blessing, and a trial for me to attend. A blessing because it’s such an amazing
organization, and I always see grace in action. Here, seasoned writers encourage,
teach and network with those who are still working hard to get started on their
publishing dreams. It seems everywhere I turn I see someone putting others
ahead of themselves. I have a friend who gave away her coveted editor
appointment to another writer, and as a result the recipient moved several
steps closer to her publishing goal. It’s not unusual to see knots of attendees
huddled together, praying for one another or celebrating good news.

The trial comes when I see
the other side of human nature. In the stress-filled environment of a
conference some revert to a more selfish way of carrying on. Their conversation
tends to consist more of I and me, instead of you and yours. Even worse, their
actions are subtly orchestrated to remind those around of their importance and
yes, greed. The hardest thing about encountering this, is how obvious it is to
everyone around.

So what do I do when I encounter these sorts of
individuals? I’ve discovered the first thing I need to do is pray—for myself.
When I see this in others, I use it to remind me to be on guard against
self-centeredness within my own heart. Because I guarantee you it’s there, even
if I’ve managed to conquer it for the moment. I let the behavior I observe be a
signpost, pointing to the fact that none of us is perfect and we all must work
to react in a giving and grace-filled manner.

I love hearing about a writer giving away her coveted editor appointment. I'm reading it everywhere ... the way to success is to give things away, not to try to figure out how to get more. You've said it, Seth Godin says it, Jeff Goins, and my husband's in a networking group whose motto is Givers Gain. I love the idea because it frees all of us up to be generous. Sounds like you had a wonderful conference!